Apple's healthcare ambitions beyond the Watch

Apple has considered an expansion into health care clinics, and had talks to buy a start-up called Crossover Health, which works with big employers to build and run on-site medical clinics, according to three sources familiar.

The Apple-Crossover talks went on for months but didn't materialize into a deal, one of the sources said. Apple also approached nationwide primary care group One Medical, said two other sources.

Although chief operating officer Jeff Williams is often thought to head up the Watch team at Apple, he's technically in charge of a much bigger health vision for the company. That includes the previously released ResearchKit and CareKit framework, and other potential devices and features as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if we continue to see Apple Watch evolve towards an even more capable mainstream health monitoring device, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see Apple offer a host of other services and more specific health-related devices as well over the next few years.

Where health clinics fit in, especially globally, will be interesting to see. CNBC speculates they could be part of an Apple Retail-like physical presence that offers human care instead of product care, or simply as a point-of-education and point-of-purchase for Apple's health initiatives.

It's clear Apple is always looking for new ways to grow existing businesses but also for new areas in which the company can make a real difference through differentiated experiences.

The challenge will be to see how far Apple can go while maintaining focus, quality, and coherence. But given how critically important health is, and how much personal technology can influence and advance it, here's hoping its damn far.